1. Field of The Invention
The present invention generally relates to the field of archery bow accessories. In particular, the present invention apparatus is a combination of a damping means and an indexed scale fastener which can be adapted to each other or used separately to be attached to archery bows. The damping means is utilized for the purpose of absorbing vibrations, shock and noise that results when an arrow is released from the archery bow and to provide quieter, consistent and accurate shooting of the arrow from the archery bow. The indexed scale fastener is utilized for adjusting the poundage of archery bows.
2. Description of The Prior Art
A conventional archery bow has two hex screws and washers for tightening or loosening the poundage of the archery bow. The hex screws and washers are threadedly mounted into two identical threaded openings which are at the upper part of the archery bow limb and the lower part of the archery bow limb. The poundage needed depends on the distance of the target and the arrow being used. The more the hex screws are screwed into the archery bow, the tighter the bow and the more poundage there is. The hex screws and washers that are utilized in the prior an have no measuring means to measure the poundage on the archery bow. It is all done by guess work.
Damping devices for archery bows have been known in the prior art. In the archery bow which does not have a damping means thereon, there is a tendency for the archery bow to be longitudinally, laterally and rotationally displaced upon the release of the arrow from the archery bow. During this longitudinal, lateral and rotational displacement, the rigid handle portion of the archery bow moves in a vibrating manner in a direction away from the arrow as it passes past the archery bow handle.
There have been many different types of damping means utilized in the industry. One of the many disadvantages in the prior art damping means is that they only stabilize the archery bow in the lateral and rotational directions, but not the longitudinal direction. Another disadvantage is that they utilize resilient material which over a period of time can crack and fall. The properties of the rubber do not adequately solve the archer's needs in dampening the vibrations and reducing the noise when an arrow is released from the archery bow. A further disadvantage is that they are generally too long to be used for hunting. An additional disadvantage is that they utilize viscous fluid which over time can leak.
The following fourteen (14) prior art patents were uncovered in the pertinent field of the present invention.
1. U.S. Pat. No. 2,830,486 issued to Dillon on Apr. 15, 1958 for "Resilient Nut With Tension Indicating Means" (hereafter "the Dillon Patent").
2. U.S. Pat. No. 3,060,731 issued to Adise on Oct. 30, 1962 for "Motion Translator" (hereafter "the Adise Patent").
3. U.S. Pat. No. 3,602,186 issued to Popenoe on Aug. 31, 1971 for "Opti-Mechanical Stress-Strain Indicator" (hereafter "the Popenoe Patent").
4. U.S. Pat. No. 3,823,639 issued to Liber on Jul. 16, 1974 for "Tension Indicating Fastener" (hereafter "the Liber Patent").
5. U.S. Pat. No. 3,886,840 issued to Bossler on Jun. 3, 1975 for "Bolt Head Which Measures And Maintains Preload" (hereafter "the Bossler Patent").
6. U.S. Pat. No. 4,054,121 issued to Hoyt, Jr. on Oct. 18, 1977 for "Adjustable Mounting Means For Archery Bow Stabilizers" (hereafter "the Hoyt Patent").
7. U.S. Pat. No. 4,201,177 issued to Holman el al. on May 6, 1980 for "Compound Bow" (hereafter "the Holman Patent").
8. U.S. Pat. No. 4,201,182 issued to Butler on May 6, 1980 for "Compound Bow" (hereafter "the Butler Patent").
9. U.S. Pat. No. 4,615,327 issued to Saunders on Oct. 7, 1986 for "Resiliently Mounted Stabilizer" (hereafter "the Saunders Patent").
10. U.S. Pat. No. 4,779,602 issued to Hess, Sr. on Oct. 25, 1988 for "Archery Bow Shock Compensator" (hereafter "the Hess Patent").
11. U.S. Pat. No. 4,945,666 issued to Henry et al. on Aug. 7, 1990 for "Reactive Force Compensator For Projectile Firing Device" (hereafter "the Henry Patent").
12. U.S. Pat. No. 4,982,719 issued to Haggard et al. on Jan. 8, 1991 for "Hydraulic Bow Stabilizer" (hereafter "the Haggard Patent").
13. U.S. Pat. No. 5,016,602 issued to Mizek on May 21, 1991 for "Noise And Recoil Reducing Bow Stabilizer For Archery Bows" (hereafter "the Mizek Patent").
14. U.S. Pat. No. 5,165,831 issued to Yager et al. on Nov. 24, 1992 for "Capscrew Head Markings For Torque-Angle Tightening" (hereafter "the Yager Patent").
The Popenoe Patent discloses an opti-mechanical stress-strain indicator. It includes a bolt which has a large bore, and a pin disposed within the bore. The stress is measured by the color change of the fluid within the large bore.
The Bossler Patent discloses a bolt head which measures and maintains preload. An indicator-washer is mounted at the periphery of the upper recess, closing the recess and being relatively non-deflecting with respect to the ring, so that the relative position of the indicator pin and indicator-washer or ring is a function of the pre-load or load.
The Dillon Patent discloses a resilient nut with a tension indicating means. It includes a rectangular block having a vertical bore extending therethrough from top to bottom. An indicator is provided with one or more calibration lines positioned at any suitable point along the edge of the block for measuring the flexure.
The Adise Patent discloses a motion translator. An indicator card is carried by an arm at its free end. The card is provided with a uniformly graduated scale.
The Liber Patent discloses a tension indicating fastener. It is utilized to support mine shaft roofs.
The Holman Patent discloses a compound bow. The Holman device has two sets of double eccentric pulleys, cams, and wheels. They are contiguous and connected together but still separate and are movable with respect to each other. A miniature gear mechanism is provided for shifting them with respect to each other with a miniature allen wrench, and without disassembly of the parts.
The Yager Patent discloses a capscrew head marking for torque-angle tightening. It includes a fastener which has an externally threaded shank portion, a torque receiving portion integrally connected to one end of the shank portion and an outwardly extending flange located between the shank portion and the torque receiving portion.
The Saunders Patent discloses a resiliently mounted stabilizer. It is a two stage resiliently mounted stabilizer adapted to be attached to an archery bow. The first stage of the stabilizer has a first housing resiliently mounted to a pedestal by use of a flat resilient washer and a tubular resilient member within the housing. The second stage of the stabilizer includes a pair of tubular resilient members, one being disposed in a second housing. The resultant structure has the first and second housing vibrations dampened by the first washer and the first tubular member, and the vibrations of the second housing are not only dampened by that same structure, but further dampened by the resilient connection between the first housing and the second housing.
The Henry Patent discloses a reactive force compensator for projectile firing device. It includes an elongated casing adapted to permit the casing to be mounted on the projectile firing device with a length of the casing parallel to the direction of the force. A piston member is disposed in the casing and adapted to reciprocate while remaining parallel.
The Hess Patent discloses an archery bow shock compensator and balancer. It includes a central core that has a threaded stem at its trailing end. The threaded stem is received into a threaded socket conventionally provided in the forward face of an archery bow to secure the balancer-shock absorber. A hollow receptacle is threaded onto the forward end of the core to receive lead pellets or shot. When balancing, a threaded plug is removed from the receptacle and the pellets are poured into and precisely balance the core in the archer's hand so that there is no tendency for the bow to tilt from the vertical position.
The Haggard Patent discloses a hydraulic bow stabilizer which reduces the shock from firing a bow. It includes a piston movably received within a hydraulic cylinder.
The Mizek Patent discloses a noise and recoil reducing bow stabilizer for archery bows. The bow stabilizer has a hollow body which defines a chamber. An end plug is sealably secured to an end of the hollow body and another end plug is sealably secured to an opposite end of the hollow body. The bow stabilizer has at least one counterweight which is adjustable along a longitudinal axis of the hollow body to balance the archery bow. The chamber of the hollow body is partially filled with sterilized granular solids.
The Hoyt Patent discloses a device for mounting a pair of stabilizers for adjustable angular projection from opposite sides of a bow. It includes a transverse mounting bar attached to a face of the bow and extending from opposite sides. The inner bevelled faces of the adjustable members are provided with radial score lines of equal angular spacing. The mounting bar is provided with a scored index line. The angularly spaced lines may include indicia to indicate the angularly adjusted positions of the adjustable members in degrees.
The Butler Patent discloses a compound bow. Butler's device does not use a pulley mechanism, but employs pivot members which rotate less than a full turn from their position as the drawstring is fully released, to their position as the drawstring is fully drawn and the bow is cocked.
It can be seen that there is still a need for an improved indexed scale fastener that will facilitate the adjustment and measurement of the poundage on the archery bow and to have a new and improved damping means. It is desirable to eliminate the long guessing process of adjusting the poundage on the archery bow. It is also desirable to have a new and improved damping means which can be adapted to the indexed scale fastener or used separately by attachment to the archery bow.